1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to discovering content with a device. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for providing content to a device and specifically when the content transmitted to the device is unavailable.
2. The Relevant Technology
In today's world, digital media has become a common source of news and entertainment and the digital media can be delivered in a variety of different ways and locations. Radio stations, for example, broadcast over the open air to certain markets as well as over satellite networks and computer networks. Television programming can be received over cable and satellite networks. Performances, sporting events and talk shows can be attended, watched live, or recorded for later viewing. The ability to experience the content of these different types of programming has become an everyday occurrence for many people.
Not surprisingly, different people often prefer to experience different types of content. Some persons, for example, may enjoy listening exclusively to talk radio, while other persons may desire to listen to classical music or watch the latest movies. This aspect of people's personalities has led content providers, at least in part, to develop specialized or themed channels where the content on a particular channel fits within a defined space or genre. Some radio stations, for example, are dedicated to talk shows while other stations play only a particular type of music. In each case, the content provided by a given content provider is often directed to a specific target audience or demographic.
In satellite radio, multiple channels can be delivered to subscribers over the satellite network and the ability to provide themed channels is also evident in satellite radio. Many of the channels on satellite radio have a particular theme or provide only a particular type of content. There are channels, for example, that are dedicated to certain music genres as well as stations that focus on sports programming or talk radio.
The content on each of these channels is programmed by a content provider. One attractive feature of programmed content on a given channel is that the user can expect to receive a certain type of content or receive content that presumably fits within the content requirements of the channel. Because the content provider typically has more source content than the typical subscriber, another attractive feature of programmed content is that the users receiving the programmed content may experience content that they might not have experienced otherwise. In addition, the subscriber may experience content in an unexpected order.
While users often enjoy listening to satellite radio, they also enjoy listening to content that may be stored on their device. The difficulty faced by these users, however, is in creating playlists that have different themes. Conventional devices, for example, typically provide only two modes of playback: (i) in order and (ii) random. The only option for generating a playlist that is not in order or random is to manually create the playlist. As many users know, the process of manually creating a playlist is cumbersome and may require the user to sort through a large library of content. In other words, successfully creating playlists that are themed or that are different from playing the stored content in order or randomly is to manually create the playlist.
Another difficulty faced in satellite radio relates to situations where the satellite signal is weak or unavailable. In some instances, the device may have a buffer present to account for signal loss. Nonetheless, there are times when the buffer is insufficient to adequately protect against signal loss or against a weak signal. As a result, the user is likely to experience an interruption when content is unavailable. The user may be able to switch to the content that is stored on the device. Unfortunately, manually selecting content or another playlist can still interrupt the user's listening experience. For instance, the manually selected content is unlikely to have the same feel or theme as the channel that was being experienced. In addition, the user may be required to actively select a playlist manually.